Memory element and memory device

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a memory element including a memory layer that has a magnetization perpendicular to a film face and a magnetization direction thereof varies corresponding to information; a magnetization-fixed layer that has a magnetization that is perpendicular to the film face; and an insulating layer that is provided between the memory layer and the magnetization-fixed layer, wherein an electron that is spin-polarized is injected in a lamination direction of a layered structure, and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer varies and a recording of information is performed with respect to the memory layer, a magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer, and a Ta film is formed in such a manner that comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2010-205260 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Sep. 14, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to a memory element that includes a memory layer that stores the magnetization state of a ferromagnetic layer as information and a magnetization-fixed layer in which a magnetization direction is fixed, and that changes the magnetization direction of the memory layer by flowing a current, and a memory device having the memory element.

In an information device such as a computer, a highly dense DRAM that operates at a high speed has been widely used as a random access memory.

However, the DRAM is a volatile memory in which information is erased when power is turned off, such that a non-volatile memory in which the information is not erased is desirable.

In addition, as a candidate for the non-volatile memory, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) in which the information is recorded by magnetization of a magnetic material has attracted attention and therefore has been developed.

The MRAM makes a current flow to two kinds of address interconnects (a word line and a bit line) that are substantially perpendicular to each other, respectively, and inverts the magnetization of a magnetic layer of a magnetic memory element, which is located at an intersection of the address interconnects, of the memory device by using a current magnetic field generated from each of the address interconnects, and thereby performs the recording of information.

A schematic diagram (perspective view) of a general MRAM is shown in FIG. 9.

A drain region 108, a source region 107, and a gate electrode 101, which make up a selection transistor that selects each memory cell, are formed at portions separated by an element separation layer 102 of a semiconductor substrate 110 such as a silicon substrate, respectively.

In addition, a word line 105 extending in the front-back direction in the drawing are provided at an upper side of the gate electrode 101.

The drain region 108 is formed commonly to left and right selection transistors in the drawing, and an interconnect 109 is connected to the drain region 108.

In addition, magnetic memory elements 103, each having a memory layer whose magnetization direction is inverted, are disposed between the word line 105 and bit lines 106 that are disposed at an upper side in relation to the word line 105 and extend in the left-right direction. These magnetic memory elements 103 are configured, for example, by a magnetic tunnel junction element (MTJ element).

In addition, the magnetic memory elements 103 are electrically connected to the source region 107 through a horizontal bypass line 111 and a vertical contact layer 104.

When a current is made to flow to the word line 105 and the bit lines 106, a current magnetic field is applied to the magnetic memory element 103 and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer of the magnetic memory element 103 is inverted, and therefore it is possible to perform the recording of information.

In addition, in regard to a magnetic memory such as the MRAM, it is necessary for the magnetic layer (memory layer) in which the information is recorded to have a constant coercive force in order to stably retain the recorded information.

On the other hand, it is necessary to make a certain amount of current flow to the address interconnect to order to rewrite the recorded information.

However, along with miniaturization of the element making up the MRAM, the address interconnect becomes thin, such that it is difficult to flow a sufficient current.

Therefore, as a configuration capable of realizing the magnetization inversion with a relatively small current, a memory having a configuration using a magnetization inversion by spin injection has attracted attention (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003-17782 and 2008-227388, and a specification of U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,223, PHYs. Rev. B,54.9353 (1996), and J. Magn. Mat., 159, L1 (1996).

Magnetization inversion by the spin injection means that a spin polarized electron after passing through a magnetic material is injected to the other magnetic material, and thereby magnetization inversion is caused in the other magnetic material.

For example, when a current is made to flow to a giant magnetoresistive effect element (GMR element) or a magnetic tunnel junction element (MTJ element) in a direction perpendicular to a film face, the magnetization direction of at least a part of the magnetic layer of this element may be inverted.

In addition, magnetization inversion by spin injection has an advantage in that even when the element becomes minute, it is possible realize the magnetization inversion without increasing the current.

A schematic diagram of the memory device having a configuration using magnetization inversion by the above-described spin injection is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 shows a perspective view, and FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional view.

A drain region 58, a source region 57, and a gate electrode 51 that make up a selection transistor for the selection of each memory cell are formed, respectively, in a semiconductor substrate 60 such as a silicon substrate at portions isolated by an element isolation layer 52. Among them, the gate electrode 51 also functions as a word line extending in the front-back direction in FIG. 10.

The drain region 58 is formed commonly to left and right selection transistors in FIG. 10, and an interconnect 59 is connected to the drain region 58.

A memory element 53 having a memory layer in which a magnetization direction is inverted by spin injection is disposed between the source region 57 and bit lines 56 that are disposed in an upper side of the source region 57 and extend in the left-right direction in FIG. 10.

This memory element 53 is configured by, for example, a magnetic tunnel junction element (MTJ element). The memory element 53 has two magnetic layers 61 and 62. In the two magnetic layers 61 and 62, one side magnetic layer is set as a magnetization-fixed layer in which the magnetization direction is fixed, and the other side magnetic layer is set as a magnetization-free layer in which that magnetization direction varies, that is, a memory layer.

In addition, the memory element 53 is connected to each bit line 56 and the source region 57 through the upper and lower contact layers 54, respectively. In this manner, when a current is made to flow to the memory element 53, the magnetization direction of the memory layer may be inverted by spin injection.

In the case of the memory device having a configuration using magnetic inversion by this spin injection, it is possible to make the structure of the device simple compared to the general MRAM shown in FIG. 9, and therefore it has a characteristic in that high densification becomes possible.

In addition, when magnetization inversion by spin injection is used, there is an advantage in that even as miniaturization of the element proceeds, the write current is not increased, compared to the general MRAM performing magnetization inversion by an external magnetic field.

SUMMARY

However, in the case of the MRAM, a write interconnect (word line or bit line) is provided separately from the memory element, and the writing of information (recording) is performed using a current magnetic field generated by flowing a current to the write interconnect. Therefore, it is possible to make a sufficient amount of current necessary for the writing flow to the write interconnect.

On the other hand, in the memory device having a configuration using magnetization inversion by spin injection, it is necessary to invert the magnetization direction of the memory layer by performing spin injection using a current flowing to the memory element.

Since the writing (recording) of information is performed by directly flowing a current to the memory element as described above, a memory cell is configured by connecting the memory element to a selection transistor to select a memory cell that performs the writing. In this case, the current flowing to the memory element is restricted to a current magnitude capable of flowing to the selection transistor (a saturation current of the selection transistor).

Therefore, it is necessary to perform writing with a current equal to or less than the saturation current of the selection transistor, and therefore it is necessary to diminish the current flowing to the memory element by improving spin injection efficiency.

In addition, to increase the read-out signal strength, it is necessary to secure a large magnetoresistance change ratio, and to realize this, it is effective to adopt a configuration where an intermediate layer that comes into contact with both sides of the memory layer is set as a tunnel insulation layer (tunnel barrier layer).

In this way, in a case where the tunnel insulation layer is used as the intermediate layer, the amount of current flowing to the memory element is restricted to prevent the insulation breakdown of the tunnel insulation layer. From this viewpoint, it is also necessary to restrict the current at the time of spin injection.

Since such a current value is proportional to a film thickness of the memory layer and is proportional to the square of the saturation magnetization of the memory layer, it may be effective to adjust these (film thickness and saturated magnetization) to decrease such a current value (for example, refer to F. J. Albert et al., Appl. Phy. Lett., 77, 3809 (2000).

For example, in F. J. Albert et al., Appl. Phy. Lett., 77, 3809 (2000), the fact that when the amount of magnetization (Ms) of the recording material is decreased, the current value may be diminished is disclosed.

However, on the other hand, if the information written by the current is not stored, a non-volatile memory is not realized. That is, it is necessary to secure a stability (thermal stability) against the thermal fluctuation of the memory layer.

In the case of the memory element using magnetization inversion by spin injection, since the volume of the memory layer becomes small, simply considered the thermal stability tends to decrease, compared to the MRAM in the related art.

When thermal stability of the memory layer is not secured, the inverted magnetization direction re-inverts by heating, and this leads to writing error.

In addition, in a case where high capacity of the memory element using magnetization inversion by the spin injection is advanced, the volume of the memory element becomes smaller, such that the securing of the thermal stability becomes an important problem.

Therefore, in regard to the memory element using the magnetization inversion by spin injection, thermal stability is a very important characteristic.

Therefore, to realize a memory element having a configuration where the magnetization direction of the memory layer as a memory is inverted by spin injection, it is necessary to diminish the current necessary for the magnetization inversion by spin injection to a value equal to or less than the saturation current of the transistor, and thereby securing thermal stability for retaining written information reliably.

As described above, to diminish the current necessary for the magnetization inversion by spin injection, diminishing the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer, or making the memory layer thin may be considered. For example, as is the case with U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,045, it is effective to use a material having a small saturated magnetization amount Ms as the material for the memory layer. However, in this way, in a case where the material having the small saturated magnetization amount Ms is simply used, it is difficult to secure thermal stability for reliably retaining information.

Therefore, in this application, it is desirable to provide a memory element capable of improving thermal stability while diminishing the write current, and a memory device with the memory element.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a memory element including a memory layer that has a magnetization perpendicular to a film face and a magnetization direction thereof varies corresponding to information; a magnetization-fixed layer that has a magnetization that is perpendicular to the film face and becomes a reference for the information stored in the memory layer; and an insulating layer that is provided between the memory layer and the magnetization-fixed layer and is formed of a non-magnetic material. An electron that is spin-polarized is injected in a lamination direction of a layered structure having the memory layer, the insulating layer, and the magnetization-fixed layer, and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer varies and a recording of information is performed with respect to the memory layer, and a magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer. In addition, a Ta film is formed in such a manner that it comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer.

In addition, the memory layer may include Co—Fe—B.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a memory device including a memory element that retains information through the magnetization state of a magnetic material, and two kinds of interconnects that intersect each other, wherein the memory element has the configuration of the above-described memory element according to the embodiment, the memory element is disposed between the two kinds of interconnects, and a current flows to the memory element in the lamination direction through the two kinds of interconnects, and thereby a spin-polarized electron is injected into the memory element.

According to the configuration of the memory element of the embodiment, a memory layer that retains information through a magnetization state of a magnetic material is provided, a magnetization-fixed layer is provided over the memory layer through an intermediate layer, the intermediate layer is formed of an insulating material, an electron that is spin-polarized is injected in a lamination direction and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer is changed and a recording of information is performed with respect to the memory layer, and therefore it is possible to perform the recording of the information by flowing a current in the lamination direction and by injecting a spin-polarized electron.

In addition, the magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer, such that the diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives decreases, and therefore it is possible to diminish the amount of the write current necessary for inverting the magnetization direction of the memory layer.

On the other hand, it is possible to diminish the amount of the write current even when the saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer is not diminished, such that the saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer becomes sufficient, and it is possible to sufficiently secure thermal stability of the memory layer.

In addition, a Ta film is formed in such a manner that it comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer, for example, as an underlying layer, such that this configuration is suitable for securing perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer, and improvement in thermal stability of the memory element.

In addition, according to the configuration of the memory device of the embodiment, the memory element is disposed between the two kinds of interconnects, and a current flows to the memory element in the lamination direction through the two kinds of interconnects, and thereby a spin-polarized electron is injected to the memory element. Therefore, it is possible to perform the recording of information by a spin injection by flowing a current in the lamination direction of the memory element through the two kinds of interconnects.

In addition, even when the saturated magnetization amount is not diminished, it is possible to diminish the amount of the write current of the memory element, such that it is possible to stably retain the information recorded in the memory element and it is possible to diminish the power consumption of the memory device.

According to the embodiments, even when the saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer is not diminished, the amount of the write current of the memory element may be diminished, such that the thermal stability representing the information retaining ability is sufficiently secured, and it is possible to configure a memory element excellent in a characteristic balance.

Particularly, a Ta film is formed in such a manner that it comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer, such that this configuration is advantageous with regard to securing perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer, and improvement in thermal stability of the memory element.

Therefore, it is possible to realize a memory device that operates stably with high reliability.

In addition, the write current is diminished, such that it is possible to diminish power consumption during performing the writing into the memory element. Therefore, it is possible to diminish the power consumption of the entirety of the memory device.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view illustrating a schematic configuration of a memory device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a memory element according the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an amount of Co of a memory layer of 0.09×0.18 μm size and an inversion current density;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an amount of Co of a memory layer of 0.09×0.18 μm size and an index of thermal stability;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an amount of Co of a memory layer of 50 nm φ size and an index of thermal stability;

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a layer structure of samples of experiment 5 according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are diagrams illustrating a measurement result of experiment 5 according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a layer structure of samples of experiment 6 according to the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a configuration of an MRAM in the related art.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a memory device using a magnetic inversion by a spin injection; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a memory device of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present application will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1. Outline of Memory Element of Embodiment

2. Configuration of Embodiment

3. Experiment

1. Outline of Memory Element of Embodiment

First, outline of a memory element of an embodiment according to the present application will be described.

The embodiment according to the present application performs the recording of information by inverting a magnetization direction of a memory layer of a memory element by the above-described spin injection.

The memory layer is formed of a magnetic material such as ferromagnetic layer, and retains information through the magnetization state (magnetization direction) of the magnetic material.

It will be described later in detail, but the memory element has a layered structure whose example is shown in FIG. 2, and includes a memory layer 17 and a magnetization-fixed layer 15 as two magnetic layers, and an insulating layer 16 (tunnel insulating layer) as an intermediate layer provided between the two magnetic layers.

The memory layer 17 has a magnetization perpendicular to a film face and a magnetization direction varies corresponding to information.

The magnetization-fixed layer 15 has a magnetization that is a reference for the information stored in the memory layer 17 and is perpendicular to the film face.

The insulating layer 16 is formed of a non-magnetic material and is provided between the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15. In this embodiment, the insulating layer 16 is formed of an oxide film, for example, MgO (oxide magnesium).

Spin-polarized electrons are injected in the lamination direction of a laminated structure having the memory layer 17, the insulating layer 16, and the magnetization-fixed layer 15, and the magnetization direction of the memory layer 17 is changed and thereby information is recorded in the memory layer 17.

A cap layer 18 is formed at an upper side of the memory layer 17. In addition, an underlying layer 14 is formed at a lower side of the magnetization-fixed layer 15. In this embodiment, at least a face, which comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, of the underlying layer 14, is formed of a Ta film.

A basic operation for inverting the magnetization direction of the magnetic layer (memory layer 17) by spin injection is to make a current of a threshold value or greater flow to the memory element including a giant magnetoresistive effect element (GMR element) or a tunnel magnetoresistive effect element (MTJ element) in a direction perpendicular to a film face. At this time, the polarity (direction) of the current depends on the inverted magnetization direction.

In a case where a current having an absolute value less than the threshold value is made to flow, magnetization inversion does not occur.

A threshold value Ic of a current, which is necessary when the magnetization direction of the magnetic layer is inverted by spin injection, is expressed by the following equation (1).

Ic=A·α·Ms·V·Hd/2η  (1)

Here, A: constant, α: spin braking constant, η: spin injection efficiency, Ms: saturated magnetization amount, V: volume of memory layer, and Hd: effective diamagnetic field.

As expressed by the equation (1), a threshold value of a current may be set to an arbitrary value by controlling the volume V of the magnetic layer, the saturated magnetization Ms of the magnetic layer, and the spin injection efficiency η, and the spin braking constant α,

In this embodiment, the memory element includes the magnetic layer (memory layer 17) that is capable of retaining information through the magnetization state, and the magnetization-fixed layer 15 whose magnetization direction is fixed.

The memory element has to retain written information so as to function as a memory. This is determined by a value of an index Δ (=KV/k_(B)T) of thermal stability as an index of ability of retaining information. The above-described Δ is expressed by the following equation (2).

Δ=KV/k _(B) T=Ms·V·H _(k)·(½k _(B) T)  (2)

Here, H_(k): effective anisotropy field, k_(B): Boltzmann's constant, T: temperature, Ms: saturated magnetization amount, and V: volume of memory layer.

The effective anisotropy field H_(k) receives an effect by a shape magnetic anisotropy, an induced magnetic anisotropy, and a crystal magnetic anisotropy, or the like, and when assuming a coherent rotation model of a single domain, the effective anisotropy field becomes the same as the coercive force.

The index Δ of the thermal stability and the threshold value Ic of the current are often in a trade-off relationship. Therefore, compatibility of these becomes an issue to retain the memory characteristic.

In regard to the threshold value of the current that changes the magnetization state of the memory layer 17, actually, for example, in a TMR element in which the thickness of the memory layer 17 is 2 nm, and a planar pattern is substantially an elliptical shape of 100 nm×150 nm, a threshold value +Ic of a positive side is +0.5 mA, a threshold value −Ic of a negative side is −0.3 mA, and a current density at this time is substantially 3.5×10⁶ A/cm². These substantially correspond to the above-described equation (1).

On the contrary, in a common MRAM that performs a magnetization inversion using a current magnetic field, a write current of several mA or more is necessary.

Therefore, in the case of performing magnetization inversion by spin injection, the threshold value of the above-described write current becomes sufficiently small, such that this is effective for diminishing power consumption of an integrated circuit.

In addition, an interconnect (interconnect 105 of FIG. 9) for the generation of the current magnetic field, which is necessary for a common MRAM, is not necessary, such that in regard to the degree of integration, it is advantageous compared to the common MRAM.

In the case of performing the magnetization inversion by spin injection, since the writing (recording) of information is performed by directly flowing a current to the memory element, to select a memory cell that performs the writing, the memory element is connected to a selection transistor to construct the memory cell.

In this case, the current flowing to the memory element is restricted to a current magnitude (saturated current of the selection transistor) that can be made to flow to the selection transistor.

To make the threshold value Ic of a current of the magnetization inversion by the spin injection smaller than the saturated current of the selection transistor, as can be seen from the equation (1), it is effective to diminish the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17.

However, in the case of simply diminishing the saturated magnetization amount Ms (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,242,045), the thermal stability of the memory layer 17 is significantly deteriorated, and therefore it is difficult for the memory element to function as a memory.

To construct the memory, it is necessary that the index Δ of the thermal stability is equal to or greater than a magnitude of a certain degree.

The present inventors have made various studies, and as a result thereof, they have found that when for example, a composition of Co—Fe—B is selected as the ferromagnetic layer making up the memory layer 17, the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field (M_(effective)) which the memory layer 17 receives becomes smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17.

By using the above-described ferromagnetic material, the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives becomes smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17.

In this manner, it is possible to make the diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives small, such that it is possible to obtain an effect of diminishing the threshold value Ic of a current expressed by the equation (1) without deteriorating the thermal stability Δ expressed by the equation (2).

In addition, the present inventors have found that Co—Fe—B magnetizes in a direction perpendicular to a film face within a restricted composition range of the selected Co—Fe—B composition, and due to this, it is possible to secure a sufficient thermal stability even in the case of an extremely minute memory element capable of realizing Gbit class capacity.

Therefore, in regard to a spin injection-type memory of the Gbit class, it is possible to make a stable memory in which information may be written with a low current in a state where the thermal stability is secured.

In this embodiment, it is configured such that the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives is made to be less than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17, that is, a ratio of the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field with respect to the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17 becomes less than 1.

In addition, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element is configured by using a tunnel insulating layer (insulating layer 16) formed of an insulating material as the non-magnetic intermediate layer disposed between the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15 in consideration of the saturated current value of the selection transistor.

The magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element is configured by using the tunnel insulating layer, such that it is possible to make a magnetoresistance change ratio (MR ratio) large compared to a case where a giant magnetoresistive effect (GMR) element is configured by using a non-magnetic conductive layer, and therefore it is possible to increase the read-out signal strength.

Particularly, when magnesium oxide (MgO) is used as the material of the tunnel insulating layer 16, it is possible to make the magnetoresistance change ratio (MR ratio) large compared to a case where aluminum oxide, which can be generally used, is used.

In addition, generally, spin injection efficiency depends on the MR ratio, and the larger the MR ratio, the more spin injection efficiency is improved, and therefore it is possible to diminish the magnetization inversion current density.

Therefore, when magnesium oxide is used as the material of the tunnel insulating layer 16 and the memory layer 17 is used, it is possible to diminish the threshold write current by spin injection and therefore it is possible to perform the writing (recording) of information with a small current. In addition, it is possible to increase the read-out signal strength.

In this manner, it is possible to diminish the threshold write current by spin injection by securing the MR ratio (TMR ratio), and it is possible to perform the writing (recording) of information with a small current. In addition, it is possible to increase the read-out signal strength.

As described above, in a case where the tunnel insulating layer 16 is formed of the magnesium oxide (MgO) film, it is desirable that the MgO film be crystallized and therefore a crystal orientation be maintained in (001) direction.

In addition, in this embodiment, in addition to a configuration formed of the magnesium oxide, the insulating layer 16 as an intermediate layer disposed between the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be configured by using, for example, various insulating materials, dielectric materials, and semiconductors such as aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, SiO₂, Bi₂O₃, MgF₂, CaF, SrTiO₂, AlLaO₃, and Al—N—O.

An area resistance value of the tunnel insulating layer 16 is necessary to be controlled to several tens Ωμm² or less in consideration of the viewpoint of obtaining a current density necessary for inverting the magnetization direction of the memory layer 17 by spin injection.

In the tunnel insulating layer 16 formed of the MgO film, to retain the area resistance value within the above-described range, it is necessary to set the film thickness of the MgO film to 1.5 nm or less.

In addition, it is desirable to make the memory element small to easily invert the magnetization direction of the memory layer 17 with a small current.

Therefore, preferably, the area of the memory element is set to 0.01 μm2 or less.

In addition, in this embodiment, the memory layer 17 may be formed by directly laminating another ferromagnetic layer having a different composition. In addition, a ferromagnetic layer and a soft magnetic layer may be laminated, or a plurality of ferromagnetic layers may be laminated through a soft magnetic layer or a non-magnetic layer interposed therebetween. Even in the case of laminating in this manner, an effect may be obtained.

Particularly, in a case where the memory layer 17 is configured by laminating the plurality of ferromagnetic layers through the non-magnetic layer, it is possible to adjust the strength of interaction between the ferromagnetic layers, such that even when even when the dimensions of the memory element is under sub-micron, there is obtained an effect of controlling magnetization inversion current not to be large. As a material of the non-magnetic layer in this case, Ru, Os, Re, Ir, Au, Ag, Cu, Al, Bi, Si, B, C, Cr, Ta, Pd, Pt, Zr, Hf, W, Mo, Nb, or an alloy thereof may be used.

It is desirable that the magnetization-fixed layer 15 and the memory layer 17 have a unidirectional anisotropy. In addition, it is preferable that the film thickness of each of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 and the memory layer 17 be 0.5 to 30 nm.

Other configuration of the memory element may be the same as the configuration of a memory element that records information by spin injection in the related art.

The magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be configured in such a manner that the magnetization direction is fixed by only a ferromagnetic layer or by using an anti-ferromagnetic combination of an anti-ferromagnetic layer and a ferromagnetic layer.

In addition, the magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be configured by a single layer of a ferromagnetic layer, or a ferri-pin structure in which a plurality of ferromagnetic layers are laminated through a non-magnetic layer.

As a material of the ferromagnetic layer making up the magnetization-fixed layer 15 of the laminated ferri-pin structure, Co, CoFe, CoFeB, or the like may be used. In addition, as a material of the non-magnetic layer, Ru, Re, Ir, Os, or the like may be used.

As a material of the anti-ferromagnetic layer, a magnetic material such as an FeMn alloy, a PtMn alloy, a PtCrMn alloy, an NiMn alloy, an IrMn alloy, NiO, and Fe₂O₃ may be exemplified.

In addition, a magnetic characteristic may be adjusted by adding a non-magnetic element such as Ag, Cu, Au, Al, Si, Bi, Ta, B, C, O, N, Pd, Pt, Zr, Hf, Ir, W, Mo, and Nb to the above-describe magnetic materials, or in addition to this, various physical properties such as a crystalline structure, a crystalline property, a stability of a substance, or the like may be adjusted.

In addition, in relation to a film configuration of the memory element, the memory layer 17 may be disposed at the lower side of the magnetization-fixed layer 15, or at the upper side thereof, and in any disposition, there is no problem at all. In addition, there is no problem at all in a case where the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is disposed at the upper side and the lower side of the memory layer 17, so-called dual-structure.

In addition, as a method of reading-out information recorded in the memory layer 17 of the memory element, a magnetic layer that becomes a reference for the information is provided on the memory layer 17 of the memory element through a thin insulating film, and the reading-out may be performed by a ferromagnetic tunnel current flowing through the insulating layer 16, or the reading-out may be performed by a magnetoresistive effect.

In addition, in this embodiment, a Ta film in the underlying layer 14 is brought into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15. This configuration is suitable for securing perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer 17, and improvement in thermal stability of the memory element.

2. Configuration of Embodiment

Subsequently, a specific configuration of this embodiment will be described.

As an embodiment, a schematic configuration diagram (perspective view) of a memory device is shown in FIG. 1.

This memory device includes a memory element 3, which can retain information at the magnetization state, disposed in the vicinity of an intersection of two kinds of address interconnects (for example, a word line and a bit line) that are perpendicular to each other.

Specifically, a drain region 8, a source region 7, and a gate electrode 1 that make up a selection transistor that selects each memory cell are formed in a portion separated by an element separation layer 2 of a semiconductor substrate 10 such as a silicon substrate, respectively. Among them, the gate electrode 1 also functions as one side address interconnect (for example, a word line) that extends in the front-back direction in the drawing.

The drain region 8 is formed commonly with left and right selection transistors in the drawing, and an interconnect 9 is connected to the drain region 8.

The memory element 3 is disposed between the source region 7, and the other side address interconnect (for example, a bit line) 6 that is disposed at the upper side and extends in the left-right direction in the drawing. This memory element 3 has a memory layer including a ferromagnetic layer whose magnetization direction is inverted by spin injection.

In addition, the memory element 3 is disposed in the vicinity of an intersection of two kinds of address interconnects 1 and 6.

The memory element 3 is connected to the bit line 6 and the source region 7 through upper and lower contact layers 4, respectively.

In this manner, a current flows into the memory element 3 in the perpendicular direction thereof through the two kind of address interconnects 1 and 6, and the magnetization direction of the memory layer may be inverted by a spin injection.

In addition, a cross-sectional view of the memory element 3 of the memory device according to this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2.

In the memory element 3, an underlying layer 14, the magnetization-fixed layer 15, the insulating layer 16, the memory layer 17, and the cap layer 18 are laminated in this order from a lower layer side.

In this case, the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is provided at a lower layer in relation to a memory layer 17 in which the magnetization direction of a magnetization M17 is inverted by a spin injection.

In regard to the spin injection type memory, “0” and “1” of information are defined by a relative angle between the magnetization M17 of the memory layer 17 and a magnetization M15 of the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

An insulating layer 16 that serves as a tunnel barrier layer (tunnel insulating layer) is provided between the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15, and therefore an MTJ element is configured by the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

In addition, an underlying layer 14 is formed under the magnetization-fixed layer 15, and a cap layer 18 is formed on the memory layer 17.

The memory layer 17 is formed of a ferromagnetic material having a magnetic moment in which the direction of a magnetization M17 is freely changed in a direction perpendicular to a film face. The magnetization-fixed layer 15 is formed of a ferromagnetic material having a magnetic moment in which a magnetization M15 is fixed in the direction perpendicular to the film face.

The storage of information is performed by a magnetization direction of the memory layer 17 having a unidirectional anisotropy. The writing of information is performed by applying a current in the direction perpendicular to the film face and by causing a spin torque magnetization inversion. In this way, the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is provided at a lower layer in relation to the memory layer 17 in which the magnetization direction is inverted by the spin injection, and serves as a reference for the memory information (magnetization direction) of the memory layer 17.

In this embodiment, Co—Fe—B is used for the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

The magnetization-fixed layer 15 serves as the reference for the information, such that it is necessary that the magnetization direction does not vary, but it is not necessarily necessary to be fixed in a specific direction. The magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be configured in such a manner that migration becomes more difficult than in the memory layer 17 by making a coercive force large, by making the film thickness large, or by making a damping constant large compared to the memory layer 17.

In the case of fixing the magnetization, an anti-ferromagnetic material such as PtMn and IrMn may be brought into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, or a magnetic material brought into contact with such an anti-ferromagnetic material may be magnetically combined through a non-magnetic material such as Ru, and thereby the magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be indirectly fixed.

In this embodiment, particularly, a composition of the memory layer 17 of the memory element 3 is adjusted such that a magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives becomes smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17.

That is, a composition of a ferromagnetic material Co—Fe—B of the memory layer 17 is selected, and the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives is made to be small, such that the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field becomes smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17.

In addition, in this embodiment, in a case where the insulating layer 16 that is an intermediate layer is formed of a magnesium oxide (MgO) layer. In this case, it is possible to make a magnetoresistive change ratio (MR ratio) high.

When the MR ratio is made to be high as described above, the spin injection efficiency is improved, and therefore it is possible to diminish a current density necessary for inverting the direction of the magnetization M17 of the memory layer 17.

In this embodiment, at least an interface of the underlying layer 14, which comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, is formed of a Ta film.

The memory element 3 of this embodiment can be manufactured by continuously forming from the underlying layer 14 to the cap layer 18 in a vacuum apparatus, and then by forming a pattern of the memory element 3 by a processing such as subsequent etching or the like.

According to the above-described embodiment, the memory layer 17 of the memory element 3 is configured in such a manner that the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field that the memory layer 17 receives is smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17, such that the diamagnetic field that the memory layer 17 receives is decreased, and it is possible to diminish an amount of the write current necessary for inverting the direction of the magnetization M17 of the memory layer 17.

On the other hand, since the amount of the write current may be diminished even when the saturated magnetization amount Ms of the memory layer 17 is not diminished, it is possible to sufficiently secure the saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer 17 and therefore it is possible to sufficiently secure the thermal stability of the memory layer 17.

In addition, at least an interface of the underlying layer 14, which comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, is formed of a Ta film, such that it is advantageous with regard to perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer 17 and thermal stability.

This is considered to be because B (boron) in CoFe of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is adsorbed by the Ta film of the underlying layer 14, and therefore the orientation of CoFe is strengthened into an (001) orientation advantageous for perpendicular magnetization, and as a result thereof, the orientation of the entire laminated film including the memory layer 17 disposed at the upper side in the laminated film is oriented into an (001) orientation due to the influence of the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

As described above, since it is possible to sufficiently secure the thermal stability that is an information retaining ability, it is possible to configure the memory element 3 excellent in a characteristic balance.

In this manner, an operation error is removed and an operation margin of the memory element 3 is sufficiently obtained, such that it is possible to stably operate the memory element 3.

Accordingly, it is possible to realize a memory that operates stably with high reliability.

In addition, the write current is diminished, such that it is possible to diminish the power consumption when performing the writing into the memory element 3. Therefore, it is possible to diminish the power consumption of the entirety of the memory device in which a memory cell is configured by the memory element 3 of this embodiment.

Therefore, in regard to the memory device including the memory element 3 capable of realizing a memory device that is excellent in information retaining ability, has high reliability, and operates stably, it is possible to diminish the power consumption in a memory device including the memory element.

In addition, the memory device that includes a memory element 3 shown in FIG. 2 and has a configuration shown in FIG. 1 has an advantage in that a general semiconductor MOS forming process may be applied when the memory device is manufactured.

Therefore, it is possible to apply the memory device of this embodiment as a general purpose memory.

3. Experiment

Here, in regard to the configuration of the memory element of this embodiment, by specifically selecting the material of the ferromagnetic layer making up the memory layer 17, the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field that the memory layer 17 receives was adjusted, and thereby a sample of the memory element 3 was manufactured, and then characteristics thereof was examined.

In an actual memory device, as shown in FIG. 1, a semiconductor circuit for switching or the like present in addition to the memory element 3, but here, the examination was made on a wafer in which only the memory element is formed for the purpose of investigating a magnetization inversion characteristic of the memory layer 17.

In addition, in the following experiments 1 to 4, investigation is made into a configuration where a magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives is made to be small, and thereby the magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer 17 receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer, by selecting a composition of the ferromagnetic material, that is, Co—Fe—B of the memory layer 17.

In addition, in experiments 5 and 6, investigation is made into a configuration in which the Ta film of the underlying layer 14 is made to contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

Experiment 1

A thermal oxide film having a thickness of 300 nm was formed on a silicon substrate having a thickness of 0.725 mm, and the memory element 3 having a configuration shown in FIG. 2 was formed on the thermal oxide film.

Specifically, in regard to the memory element 3 shown in FIG. 2, a material and a film thickness of each layer were selected as described below.

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 10 nm and a Ru film having a film thickness of 25         nm     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 2.5 nm     -   Tunnel insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 0.9 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having the same composition as that         of the magnetization-fixed layer     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 3 nm, a Ru film having a thickness of 3 nm, and a         Ta film having a thickness of 3 nm

Each layer was selected as described above, a Cu film (not shown) having a film thickness of 100 nm (serving as a word line described below) was provided between the underlying layer 14 and the silicon substrate.

In the above-described configuration, the ferromagnetic layer of the memory layer 17 was formed of a ternary alloy of Co—Fe—B, and a film thickness of the ferromagnetic layer was fixed to 2.0 nm.

Each layer other than the insulating layer 16 formed of a magnesium oxide film was formed using a DC magnetron sputtering method.

The insulating layer 16 formed of the magnesium oxide (MgO) film was formed using a RF magnetron sputtering method.

In addition, after forming each layer of the memory element 3, a heating treatment was performed in a magnetic field heat treatment furnace.

Next, after masking a word line portion by photolithography, selective etching by Ar plasma was performed with respect to a laminated film other than the word line portion, and thereby the word line (lower electrode) was formed.

At this time, a portion other than the word line was etched to the depth of 5 nm in the substrate.

Then, a mask of a pattern of the memory element 3 by an electron beam drawing apparatus was formed, selective etching was performed with respect to the laminated film, and thereby the memory element 3 was formed. A portion other than the memory element 3 was etched to a portion of the word line immediately over the Cu layer.

In addition, in the memory element for the characteristic evaluation, it is necessary to make a sufficient current flow to the memory element so as to generate a spin torque necessary for the magnetization inversion, such that it is necessary to suppress the resistance value of the tunnel insulating layer. Therefore, a pattern of the memory element 3 was set to an elliptical shape having a short axis of 0.09 μm×a long axis of 0.18 μm, and an area resistance value (Ωμm²) of the memory element 3 was set to 20 Ωμm².

Next, a portion other than the memory element 3 was insulated by sputtering Al₂O₃ to have a thickness of substantially 100 nm.

Then, a bit line serving as an upper electrode and a measurement pad were formed by using photolithography.

In this manner, a sample of the memory element 3 was manufactured.

By the above-described manufacturing method, each sample of the memory element 3 in which a composition of Co—Fe—B alloy of the ferromagnetic layer of the memory layer 17 was changed was manufactured.

In the composition of the Co—Fe—B alloy, a composition ratio of CoFe and B was fixed to 80:20, and a composition ratio of Co in CoFe, that is, x(atomic %) was changed to 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, and 0%.

With respect to each sample of the memory element 3 manufactured as described above, a characteristic evaluation was performed as described below.

Before the measurement, it was configured to apply a magnetic field to the memory element 3 from the outside to control an inversion current in such a manner that a value in a plus direction and a value in a minus direction to be symmetric to each other.

In addition, a voltage applied to the memory element 3 was set up to 1 V within a range without breaking down the insulating layer 16.

Measurement of Saturated Magnetization Amount

The saturated magnetization amount Ms was measured by a VSM measurement using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer.

Measurement of Effective Diamagnetic Field

As a sample for measuring an effective diamagnetic field, in addition to the above-described sample of the memory element 3, a sample in which each layer making up the memory element 3 was formed was manufactured and then the sample was processed to have a planar pattern of 20 mm×20 mm square.

In addition, a magnitude Meffective of an effective diamagnetic field was obtained by FMR (Ferromagnetic Resonance) measurement.

A resonance frequency fFMR, which is obtained by the FMR measurement, with respect to arbitrary external magnetic field H_(ex) is given by the following equation (3).

f _(FMR)=γ′√{square root over (4πM _(effective)(H _(K) +H _(ex)))}  (3)

Here, M_(effective) in the equation (3) may be expressed by 4π M_(effective)=4πMs−H⊥ (H⊥: anisotropy field in a direction perpendicular to a film face).

Measurement of Inversion Current Value and Thermal Stability

An inversion current value was measured for the purpose of evaluating the writing characteristic of the memory element 3 according to this embodiment.

A current having a pulse width of 10 μs to 100 ms is made to flow to the memory element 3, and then a resistance value of the memory element 3 was measured.

In addition, the amount of current that flows to the memory element 3 was changed, and then a current value at which a direction of the magnetization M17 of the memory layer 17 of the memory element 3 was inverted was obtained. A value obtained by extrapolating a pulse width dependency of this current value to a pulse width 1 ns was set to the inversion current value.

In addition, the inclination of a pulse width dependency of the inversion current value corresponds to the above-described index Δ of the thermal stability of the memory element 3. The less the inversion current value is changed (the inclination is small) by the pulse width, the more the memory element 3 is strengthened against thermal disturbance.

In addition, twenty memory elements 3 with the same configuration were manufactured to take variation in the memory element 3 itself into consideration, the above-described measurement was performed, and an average value of the inversion current value and the index Δ of the thermal stability were obtained.

In addition, an inversion current density Jc0 was calculated from the average value of the inversion current value obtained by the measurement and an area of the planar pattern of the memory element 3.

In regard to each sample of the memory element 3, a composition of Co—Fe—B alloy of the memory layer 17, measurement results of the saturated magnetization amount Ms and the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field, and a ratio M_(effective)/Ms of effective diamagnetic field to the saturated magnetization amount were shown in Table 1. Here, an amount of Co of Co—Fe—B alloy of the memory layer 17 described in Table 1 was expressed by an atomic %.

TABLE 1 Ms(emu/cc) Meffctive(emu/cc) Meffective/Ms (Co₉₀Fe₁₀)₈₀—B₂₀  960 1210  1.26 (C0₈₀Fe₂₀)₈₀—B₂₀  960 1010  1.05 (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1040 900 0.87 (Co₆₀Fe₄₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1200 830 0.69 (Co₅₀Fe₅₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1300 690 0.53 (Co₄₀Fe₆₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1300 500 0.38 (Co₃₀Fe₇₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1260 390 0.31 (Co₂₀Fe₈₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1230 360 0.29 (Co₁₀Fe₉₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1200 345 0.29 Fe₈₀—B₂₀ 1160 325 0.28

From the table 1, in a case where the amount x of Co in (Co_(x)Fe_(100-x))₈₀B₂₀ was 70% or less, the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field (M_(effective)) was smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms, that is, the ratio of M_(effective)/Ms in a case where the amount x of Co was 70% or less became a value less than 1.0.

In addition, it was confirmed that the more the amount x of Co decreased, the larger the difference between M_(effective) and Ms.

A measurement result of the inversion current value was shown in FIG. 3, and a measurement result of the index of the thermal stability was shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 shows a relationship between the amount x (content in CoFe; atomic %) of Co in the Co—Fe—B alloy of the memory layer 17 and the inversion current density Jc0 obtained from the inversion current value.

FIG. 4 shows a relationship between an amount x (content in CoFe; atomic %) of Co in the Co—Fe—B alloy of the memory layer 17 and the index Δ(KV/k_(B)T) of the thermal stability.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, as the amount x of Co decreases, the inversion current density Jc0 decreases.

This is because in a case where the amount x of Co becomes small, the saturated magnetization amount Ms increases, but the effective diamagnetic field M_(effective) decreases, and therefore the product of them Ms×M_(effective) becomes small.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, as the amount x of Co decreased, the index Δ (=KV/k_(B)T) of the thermal stability increased, and in a case where the amount x of Co became more or less small to a degree, the index Δ of the thermal stability became stable to a large value.

This well corresponds to a change that is expected from the measurement result of the saturated magnetization amount Ms shown in Table 1 and a tendency where the index Δ of the thermal stability from the equation (2) is proportional to the saturated magnetization amount Ms.

As was clear from the results of Table 1, FIGS. 3 and 4, in a composition where the amount x of Co was 70% or less and the effective diamagnetic field M_(effective) was less than the saturated magnetization amount Ms, it was possible to diminish the inversion current value Jc0 with a high thermal stability maintained, without using a method in which Ms was decreased and therefore the thermal stability was sacrificed.

Experiment 2

As can be seen from the experiment 1, in the case of (Co_(x)Fe_(100-x))₈₀B₂₀, it was possible to diminish the inversion current value Jc0 with a high thermal stability maintained in a composition where the amount x of Co was 70% or less.

Therefore, in experiment 2, an effect on a ratio of Co and Fe, and the M_(effective)/Ms, which was caused by an amount of B, was examined by using a memory layer 17 having a composition (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₈₀B_(z) and a composition (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₈₀B_(z). The details of a sample were substantially the same as those in the experiment 1.

Table 2 shows compositions of CoFeB alloy in which the amount z of B was set to 5 to 40% in (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)_(100-z)B_(z), results of measurement of the saturated magnetization amount Ms and the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field, and a ratio M_(effective)/Ms of the saturated magnetization amount and the magnitude of the effective diamagnetic field.

In addition, Table 3 shows compositions of CoFeB alloy in which the amount z (atomic %) of B was similarly set to 5 to 40% in (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)_(100-z)B_(z), and a ratio M_(effective)/Ms of the saturated magnetization amount Ms and the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field.

TABLE 2 Ms(emu/cc) Meffective(emu/cc) Meffective/Ms (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₉₅—B₅ 1310 1090  0.83 (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₉₀—B₁₀ 1250 1080  0.89 (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 1040 900 0.87 (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₇₀—B₃₀  820 730 0.89 (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)₆₀—B₄₀  450 690 1.53

TABLE 3 Ms(emu/cc) Meffective(emu/cc) Meffective/Ms (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₉₅—B₅ 1250  1280 1.02 (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₉₀—B₁₀ 1100  1140 1.04 (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₈₀—B₂₀ 960 1010 1.05 (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₇₀—B₃₀ 750  890 1.19 (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)₆₀—B₄₀ 430  690 1.60

From the results of Table 2, it can be confirmed that in a case where the ratio of Co and Fe was set to 70/30 like (Co₇₀Fe₃₀)_(100-z)B_(z), the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field was smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms in compositions other than a composition where the amount z of B was 40 atomic %.

From the results of Table 3, it can be confirmed that in a case where the ratio of Co and Fe was set to 80/20 like (Co₈₀Fe₂₀)_(100-z)B_(z), the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field was larger than the saturated magnetization amount Ms in all compositions.

From the results of the above-described Tables 1 to 3, it was revealed that in a case where the amount z of B is within a range of 30 atomic % or less, a magnitude correlation of the saturated magnetization amount Ms and the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field is determined by the ratio of Co and Fe.

Therefore, a composition of the Co—Fe—B alloy where the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field is less than the saturated magnetization amount Ms in the memory layer 17 is as follows:

(Co_(x)—Fe_(y))_(100-z)—B_(z),

Here, 0≦Co_(x)≦70,

30≦Fe_(y)≦100,

0<B_(z)≦30.

Experiment 3

In a spin injection type memory of the Gbit class, it was assumed that the size of the memory element is 100 nmφ. Therefore, in experiment 3, the thermal stability was evaluated by using a memory element having the size of 50 nmφ.

In the composition of Co—Fe—B alloy, a composition ratio (atomic %) of CoFe and B was fixed to 80:20, and a composition ratio x (atomic %) of Co in CoFe was changed to 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, and 0%.

The details of the sample other than the sample size were substantially the same as those in the experiment 1.

In a case where the size of the memory element 3 was 50 nmφ, a relationship between an amount of Co (content in CoFe; atomic %) in the Co—Fe—B alloy, and the index Δ (KV/k_(B)T) of thermal stability were shown in FIG. 5.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, when the element size was 50 nmφ, Co—Fe—B alloy composition dependency of the thermal stability index Δ was largely varied from the Co—Fe—B alloy composition dependency of Δ obtained in the elliptical memory element having a short axis of 0.09 μm×a long axis of 0.18 μm shown in FIG. 4.

According to FIG. 5, the high thermal stability was maintained only in the case of Co—Fe—B alloy composition where Fe is 60 atomic % or more.

As a result of various reviews, it was clear that the reason why the Co—Fe—B alloy containing Fe of 60 atomic % or more shows the high thermal stability Δ in the extremely minute memory element was revealed to be because the magnetization of the Co—Fe—B alloy faced a direction perpendicular to a film face.

The reason why the magnetization of the Co—Fe—B alloy faces the direction perpendicular to the film face is considered to be because of a composition in which the magnitude M_(effective) of the effective diamagnetic field is significantly smaller than the saturated magnetization amount Ms.

In addition, the reason why the thermal stability is secured even in the case of the extremely minute element of a perpendicular magnetization film is related to Hk (effective anisotropy field) in the equation (2), and Hk of the perpendicular magnetization film becomes a value significantly larger than that in the in-plane magnetization film. That is, in the perpendicular magnetization film, due to an effect of large Hk, it is possible to maintain a high thermal stability Δ even in the case of the extremely minute element not capable of securing a sufficient thermal stability Δ in the in-plane magnetization film.

From the above-described experiment results, in regard to the Co—Fe—B alloy having a composition of (Co_(x)Fe_(100-x))₈₀B₂₀, in a case where the amount of Fe_(100-x) is 60% or more, this alloy may be said to be suitable for the memory device of the Gbit class using the spin injection.

Experiment 4

As can be seen from the above-described experiment 3, in a case where the amount of Fe was 60 or more in the Co—Fe—B alloy having a composition of (Co_(x)Fe_(100-x))₈₀B₂₀, this alloy was suitable for the memory device of the Gbit class using the spin injection. In experiment 4, a memory element having the size of 50 nmφ was manufactured using the Co—Fe—B alloy containing B in an amount of 5 to 30 atomic %, and the thermal stability was evaluated.

The details other than the element size were substantially the same as those in the experiment 1.

A relationship between the index Δ (KV/k_(B)T) of the thermal stability and the Co—Fe—B alloy having a composition (Co_(x)Fe_(100-x))_(100-z)B_(z) in which an amount x of Co was 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, and 0, and an amount z of B was 5, 10, 20, and 30 was shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 (Co₅₀—Fe₅₀)_(100−z)—B_(z) (Co₄₀—Fe₆₀)_(100−z)—B_(z) (Co₃₀—Fe₇₀)_(100−z)—B_(z) (Co₂₀—Fe₈₀)_(100−z)—B_(z) (Co₁₀—Fe₉₀)_(100−z)—B_(z) Fe_(100−z)—B_(z) B_(z) = 5 atomic 19 40 42 42 43 44 % B_(z) = 10 atomic 20 41.5 43 44 44 45 % B_(z) = 20 atomic 20 43 44 45 46 46 % B_(z) = 30 atomic 21 45 47 48 48 48 %

As can be seen from Table 4, the thermal stability Δ in all compositions except that a case where the amount x of Co was 50, and the amount z of B was 5 to 30 was maintained to be large.

That is, as is the case with the result of the experiment 4, it was revealed that the amount x of Co of 50 and 60 became a boundary line for securing high thermal stability in an extremely minute element corresponding to the spin injection type memory of the Gbit class.

Therefore, from the above-described result, it was revealed that the Co—Fe—B alloy of the memory layer 17 was suitable for manufacturing the spin injection type memory of the Gbit class in the following composition:

(Co_(x)—Fe_(y))_(100-z)—B_(z),

Here, 0≦Co_(x)≦40,

60≦Fe_(y)≦100,

0<B_(z)≦30.

In addition, in regard to the Co—Fe—B alloy, in a composition where the ratio of Fe was great in Co and Fe, the difference between the M_(effective) and Ms becomes large, and this alloy is apt to be magnetized, and therefore it is easy to secure thermal stability.

Therefore, in a case where the capacity of the magnetic memory increases and the size of the memory element 3 decreases, it is easy to secure thermal stability in the Co—Fe—B alloy containing a large amount of Fe.

Therefore, for example, in consideration of a situation in which the spin injection type magnetic memory of the Gbit class is realized by the memory layer 17 in which the amount y of Fe is 60, and the size thereof is 70 nmφ, it is preferable that whenever the diameter of the memory element 3 decreases by 5 nmφ, the amount y of Fe in the Co—Fe—B alloy increase by a value of 5.

For example, in the case of the (Co_(x)—Fe_(y))_(100-z)—B_(z), the amount y of Fe is set in a manner that an atomic % as a content in CoFe is 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, . . . (in terms of the amount x of Co, 35%, 30%, 25%, 20%, . . . ), and this is a more appropriate example to correspond to the size reduction of the memory element.

Experiment 5

Next, investigation was made into a material of the underlying layer 14. In this experiment 5, an evaluation of a magnetization curve in a bulk film was performed.

A thermal oxide film having the thickness of 300 nm was formed on a silicon substrate having the thickness of 0.725 mm, and samples 3A, 3B, and 3C of the memory element 3 having a configuration shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C were formed on this oxide film.

Each sample was configured as described below.

Sample 3A

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, an Ru film having a film thickness of 10 nm,         and a Ta film having a film thickness of 5 nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 1.3 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm

Sample 3B

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, an Ru film having a film thickness of 10 nm,         and a Pt film having a film thickness of 5 nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 1.3 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm, and a         Ta film having a thickness of 5 nm.

Sample 3C

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a film thickness of 25         nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 1.3 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm.

In each sample, a composition of the Co—Fe—B alloy of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 and the memory layer 17 was set to (Co20%-Fe80%)-B20% (atomic %).

Here, in the sample 3A, the Ta film of the underlying layer 14 comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, and this sample is a sample of the memory element 3 corresponding to the embodiment.

On the other hand, in the sample 3B, the Pt film comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed film 15, and in the sample 3C, the Ru film comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, and these samples are samples as comparative examples.

In each sample, a Cu film of 100 nm (serving as a word line described later) (not shown) was provided between the underlying film 14 and the silicon substrate.

Each layer other than the insulating layer 16 formed of a magnesium oxide film was formed using a DC magnetron sputtering method.

The insulating layer 16 formed of the magnesium oxide (MgO) film was formed using a RF magnetron sputtering method.

In addition, after forming each layer, a heating treatment was performed in a magnetic field heat treatment furnace.

Next, after masking a word line portion by photolithography, selective etching by Ar plasma was performed with respect to a laminated film other than the word line portion, and thereby the word line (lower electrode) was formed. At this time, a portion other than the word line was etched to the depth of 5 nm in the substrate.

Then, a mask of a pattern of the memory element by an electron beam drawing apparatus was formed, selective etching was performed with respect to the laminated film, and thereby the memory element was formed. A portion other than the memory element was etched to a portion of the word line immediately over the Cu layer.

In addition, in the memory element for the characteristic evaluation, it is necessary to make a sufficient current flow to the memory element so as to generate a spin torque necessary for the magnetization inversion, such that it is necessary to suppress the resistance value of the tunnel insulating layer. Therefore, a pattern of the memory element 3 was set to a circular shape having a short axis of 0.07 μm×a long axis of 0.07 μm, and an area resistance value (Ωμm²) of the memory element 3 was set to 10 Ωμm².

Next, a portion other than the memory element was insulated by sputtering Al₂O₃ to have a thickness of substantially 100 nm. Then, a bit line serving as an upper electrode and a measurement pad were formed by using photolithography.

In this manner, each sample 3A, 3B, and 3C of the memory element 3 was manufactured.

With respect to each sample of the memory element manufactured as described above, a characteristic evaluation was performed as described below.

Before the measurement, it was configured to apply a magnetic field to the memory element from the outside to control an inversion current in such a manner that a value in a plus direction and a value in a minus direction to be symmetric to each other. In addition, a voltage applied to the memory element was set up to 1 V within a range without breaking down the insulating layer.

Measurement of Magnetization Curve

A magnetization curve of the memory element was measured by a magnetic Kerr effect measurement. At this time, a bulk film portion of approximately 8 mm×8 mm specially designed for the magnetization curve evaluation was used in the measurement instead of an element after being subjected to a micromachining. In addition, a magnetic field for measurement was applied in a direction perpendicular to a film face.

Measurement of Magnetoresistance Curve

The magnetoresistance curve of the memory element was evaluated by measuring an element resistance while applying a magnetic field.

Measurement of Inversion Current Value and Thermal Stability

An inversion current value was measured for the purpose of evaluating the writing characteristic of the memory element according to this embodiment.

A current having a pulse width of 10 vs to 100 ms was made to flow to the memory element, and then a resistance value of the memory elements was measured. In addition, the amount of current that flows to the memory elements was changed, and then a current value at which a direction of the magnetization the memory layer of the memory elements was inverted was obtained. A value obtained by extrapolating a pulse width dependency of this current value to a pulse width 1 ns was set to the inversion current value.

In addition, the inclination of a pulse width dependency of the inversion current value corresponds to the above-described index Δ of the thermal stability of the memory element. The less the inversion current value is changed (the inclination is small) by the pulse width, the more the memory element is strengthened against thermal disturbance.

In addition, twenty memory elements with the same configuration were manufactured, respectively, to take variation in the memory elements into consideration, the above-described measurement was performed, and an average value of the inversion current value and the index Δ of the thermal stability were obtained.

Measurement results of the magnetization curve with respect to each sample 3A, 3B, and 3C are shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C.

From the measurement result of the sample 3A of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7A, it can be seen that a magnetization curve step has two stages, and therefore perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer 17 formed at the upper side of the MgO is sufficient, in addition to the magnetization-fixed layer 15 formed at the lower side of the insulating layer 16 formed of MgO.

On the other hand, in the case of the samples 3C shown in FIG. 7C, that is, in the case of a configuration where the Ru film of the underlying layer 14 comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, perpendicular magnetization caused by the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is found, but perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer 17 is not found.

In addition, in the case of the samples 3C shown in FIG. 7B, that is, in the case of a configuration where the Pt film of the underlying layer 14 comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, perpendicular magnetization of a film itself is lost significantly. Also, it can be seen that magnetization of in-plane direction is present, such that this layer becomes an in-plane magnetization film.

In conclusion, only in a case where the Ta film comes into contact with the CoFeB layer (magnetization-fixed layer 15), it is possible to realize a perpendicular MTJ capable of sufficiently securing a coercive force of the memory layer 17.

This is considered to be because B (boron) in CoFe of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is adsorbed by the Ta film, and therefore the orientation of CoFeB is strengthened into an (001) orientation advantageous for perpendicular magnetization. As a result thereof, the orientation of the entire laminated film including the memory layer disposed at the upper side in the laminated film is oriented into an (001) orientation due to the influence of the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

Experiment 6

In addition, an evaluation on the coercive force Hc and thermal stability was performed with respect to a minute element of 70 φmm.

An element structure of samples 3D, 3E, and 3F formed on a thermally oxidized silicon substrate, in this case, is shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C.

Sample 3D

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, an Ru film having a film thickness of 10 nm,         and a Ta film having a film thickness of 5 nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1.0 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 2.0 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm

Sample 3E

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, an Ru film having a film thickness of 25 nm,         and a Pt film having a film thickness of 5 nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1.0 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 2.0 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm.

Sample 3F

-   -   Underlying layer 14: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a film thickness of 25         nm.     -   Magnetization-fixed layer 15: CoFeB film having a film thickness         of 1.0 nm     -   Insulating layer 16: Magnesium oxide film having a film         thickness of 1.2 nm     -   Memory layer 17: CoFeB film having a film thickness of 2.0 nm     -   Cap layer 18: Laminated film of a Ta film having a film         thickness of 5 nm, and an Ru film having a thickness of 5 nm.

In each sample, a composition of the Co—Fe—B alloy of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 and the memory layer 17 was set to (Co20%-Fe80%)-B20% (atomic %).

Here, the sample 3D corresponds to the embodiment, and the samples 3E and 3F correspond to the comparative example.

Measurement results of magnetoresistance characteristic (coercive force Hc), and the index Δ of the thermal stability are shown in Table 5.

TABLE 5 Underlying Magnetoresistance layer characteristic Hc [Oe] Δ of 70 Φnm element Sample 3D Ta 100 35 Sample 3E Pt  0 0 (Without spin injection magnetization inversion) Sample 3F Ru  50 17

In regard to the sample 3D in which the Ta film of the underlying layer 14 comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15 as a type reflecting the result in the case of the bulk film of the experiment 5, the coercive force Hc and Δ of the element became a sufficient value.

In a case where the Ru film of the sample 3F comes into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, since a diamagnetic field in a direction perpendicular to a film face is diminished by a micro-processing, the value of Δ became small.

In the sample 3D, spin injection magnetization inversion of the memory element 3 did not occur.

From the results of the experiments 5 and 6, it can be seen that when a Ta film is used in the underlying layer 14, and the Ta film is configured to come into contact with the magnetization-fixed layer 15, such that perpendicular magnetization of the memory layer 17 is shown sufficiently, and thermal stability is secured.

Hereinbefore, the embodiment is described, but the present application is not limited to the layer configuration of the memory element 3 illustrated in the above-described embodiment, and it is possible to adopt various layer configurations.

For example, in the embodiment, the Co—Fe—B composition of the memory layer 17 and the magnetization-fixed layer 15 was made to be the same as each other, but it is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various configurations may be made without departing from the scope.

In addition, the cap layer 18 may be formed of a single material, or may be formed by a laminated structure of a plurality of materials.

In addition, the magnetization-fixed layer 15 may be formed by a single layer or may use a laminated ferri-pin structure including two ferromagnetic layers and a non-magnetic layer. In addition, a structure in which anti-ferromagnetic film is applied to the laminated ferri-pin structure film is possible.

In addition, a film configuration of the memory element may be a configuration in which the memory layer 17 is disposed at an upper side of the magnetization-fixed layer 15 or a configuration in which the memory layer 17 is disposed at a lower side of the magnetization-fixed layer 15.

In addition, this film configuration may be a so-called dual structure in which the magnetization-fixed layer 15 is disposed at the upper side and the lower side of the memory layer 17.

In addition, the memory layer 17 may include non-magnetic element film such as Ta. For example, a laminated structure of a CoFeB film, a Ta film, and CoFeB film, or the like may be considered.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims. 

The application is claimed as follows:
 1. A memory element, comprising: a memory layer that has a magnetization perpendicular to a film face and a magnetization direction thereof varies corresponding to information; a magnetization-fixed layer that has a magnetization that is perpendicular to the film face and becomes a reference for the information stored in the memory layer; and an insulating layer that is provided between the memory layer and the magnetization-fixed layer and is formed of a non-magnetic material, wherein an electron that is spin-polarized is injected in a lamination direction of a layered structure having the memory layer, the insulating layer, and the magnetization-fixed layer, and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer varies and a recording of information is performed with respect to the memory layer, a magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer, and a Ta film is formed in such a manner that it comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer.
 2. The memory element according to claim 1, wherein the memory layer includes Co—Fe—B.
 3. A memory device, comprising: a memory element that retains information through a magnetization state of a magnetic material; and two kinds of interconnects that intersect each other, wherein the memory element includes, a memory layer that has a magnetization perpendicular to a film face and a magnetization direction thereof varies corresponding to information, a magnetization-fixed layer that has a magnetization that is perpendicular to the film face and becomes a reference for the information stored in the memory layer, and an insulating layer that is provided between the memory layer and the magnetization-fixed layer and is formed of a non-magnetic material, an electron that is spin-polarized is injected in a lamination direction of a layered structure having the memory layer, the insulating layer, and the magnetization-fixed layer, and thereby the magnetization direction of the memory layer varies and a recording of information is performed with respect to the memory layer, a magnitude of an effective diamagnetic field which the memory layer receives is smaller than a saturated magnetization amount of the memory layer, a Ta film is formed in such a manner that it comes into contact with a face, which is opposite to the insulating layer side, of the magnetization-fixed layer, the memory element is disposed between the two kinds of interconnects, and a current flows to the memory element in the lamination direction through the two kinds of interconnects, and thereby a spin-polarized electron is injected to the memory element. 